National Tour

Lilith Fair

Women on top

There were plenty of little things here and there that one could find fault with in Lilith. For the first couple of years, it presented a one-dimensional view of women in pop by largely excluding hip-hoppers and hard-rockers. And by featuring women of the singer/songwriter variety -- artists who were right up Fair organizer Sarah McLachlan's alley -- Lilith helped cement the notion that pop's women should be sweet-voiced, pretty-faced, sensitive folksy artists backed, of course, by all-male bands because, after all, it's the men who traditionally provide the muscle and the technical skill.

By 1999, which was the Fair's last year, McLachlan had addressed some of the issues relating to the relative diversity of Lilith's line-up. The result was a traveling women's music festival that more accurately reflected the degree to which women have infiltrated almost every corner of the commercial and underground pop worlds, including hip-hop. And because 1999 was Lilith's last stand, as well a year in which misogyny once again reared its ugly head, it became easier to look past any shortcomings. Not only did Lilith provide artists and fans alike with a safe, women-friendly enclave in the still male-dominated realm of music, it also proved that women are a commercial force to contend with, not just on the creative front but in the marketplace, where women have been voting with their pocketbooks by spending their money on concert tickets and CDs. And, really, there's no better way to bring about change in a capitalist society.

-- Matt Ashare